"We've got far too much time on our hands here and were wondering which of the following strikers had/has the best goal per game ratio while playing for Liverpool - Keegan, Toshack, Dalglish, Rush, Aldridge, Fowler, Owen or Heskey?" asks Matt. "I still think Nigel Clough was better than all of them."

Well, you can forget about Clough junior right away. In 36 games for Liverpool he managed a paltry seven goals. And none of Liverpool's stars of the 70s that you mention quite cut it either. Kenny Dalglish scored 118 goals in 342 goals, John Toshack 74 goals in 169 games and Kevin Keegan 68 goals in 230 games - all well under a goal every other game.

The best of the current Kop crop is Robbie Fowler. His record of 167 goals in 279 games - a sniff under 0.6 goals a game - is markedly superior than Emile Heskey (63 games and 25 goals) and just pips Michael Owen (141 goals, 83 goals, a ratio of 0.58).

But all these fine players bow to the king of kings John Aldridge in the Anfield scoring charts. He played just 91 games for Liverpool in two and a half seasons at the club. But he scored 64 goals - putting his goals per game ratio at an astronomic 0.70.

Just in case you're wondering, Ian Rush managed a respectable 0.51 goals per game. During his first spell at the club Rushie scored a phenomenal 109 goals in 182 games. But in his second incarnation he was less impressive, managing just 120 goals in 265 games.

HABBEL DID IT BEFORE HITZFELD

"When Bayern Munich won the European Cup last month, Ottmar Hitzveld became only the 2nd coach to win it with two different clubs. Who was the first to do it and which clubs did he win it with?" asks Joe Byatt.

The man you're looking for is Austrian Ernst Happel. He coached Feyenoord to a 2-1 victory over Celtic in 1970 and in 1983 guided SV Hamburg to a 1-0 win over Juventus. But Happel's achievements don't end there: he also coached FC Brugge in their European Cup defeat to Liverpool in 1978 and in the same year guided Holland to the final of the 1978 World Cup.

Happel died in 1992 but his memory lives on. The Austrian national stadium - 'the Ernst Happel Stadion' - is named after him. Thanks to Martin Greensill and Stephen Martin for their help.

THAT INFURIATING FOOTBALL RIDDLE

Is there an answer to that infuriating riddle: "Arsenal do it once every four years; Liverpool have done it the most; Man Utd have never done it; Everton did it once; as a player Rio Ferdinand has done it the most and Duncan Ferguson the least," asks a desperate Brendan Reilly.

"This is regarding finishing above Sir Alex Ferguson in the English top flight," says Simon Horgan. "While Ferguson has been at United, Arsenal have, on average, finished above them every four years. Liverpool's dominance of the English top flight in the late 80s means they have the best record against Alex Ferguson's Man Utd. Everton's poor showing meant they only finished once above Sir Alex. Manchester United obviously can never finish above themselves, and this reflects in them never having done it.

"The player twist to this riddle is nasty," he continues. "Alphabetically, Rio Ferdinand nearly always appears directly above Sir Alex in a players and managers list, while Duncan Ferguson finishes directly below Sir Alex in the same list. Bizarre, but true."

Finally, after lots of implausible suggestions (see last week's knowledge), a sensible-sounding answer - but still, as it turns out, false. Simon's explanation sounds plausible, but - as Roy Walker would say - it's not quite right. Liverpool have finished above United five times since 1986 (87, 88, 89, 90, 91), the year Ferguson took over. But so have Arsenal (87, 89, 90, 91 and 98) which is clearly more than once every four years. Meanwhile Everton have finished ahead of United three times (87, 89, 90) and not once. So, unless somebody knows differently, Knowledge reckons this is another of those football riddles without an answer.

ITALIAN INTERNATIONALS NOT ENDING IN A VOWEL

Apparently there are five Italian internationals whose names don't end in a vowel," says Neil Connolly. "I've got three (Zoff, Vierchowod, Buffon) but can't get the others - and it's been driving me nuts for ages. Any ideas?"

Neil, you couldn't have been more wrong if you had claimed the moon was made of Stilton. "Five? A bit of a conservative guess says Mark Curati, who goes on to rattle off 47 Italian names ranging from Gastone Bean to Giovanni Varglien. Meanwhile, David Jack says that by scouring the Federazione Italiana Giucco Calcio website he's uncovered 50 names.

Can you help?

"The Real Madrid player Hierro recently became Spain's top international scorer of all time, overhauling Butragueno in the process. Not bad, when you consider all of his international caps were either in defence or (at best) as a defensive midfield player. Are there any other international defenders who can match his goal-scoring record? And who is England's top-scoring defender?" asks Alan Fisher.

"Which year were substitutes first allowed in English Football League games?" asks Roger Jones

"Are there any players who've scored against every team in this year's (2001/02) Premiership and if so who? My guesses would be either Marcus Stewart or Teddy Sheringham," says Peter Hall.